Monthly Archives: December 2012

I have always loved winters just like any other season. Never found it cruel like many say, that’s may be because I had always been in the warmth of my home, cuddled up by my mom. Both my parents were born during winters, and the got married in the same season. But, I never realized how deep my love was until I came here to Goa!! It’s December and I felt cold only once yet!!

Ummmm.. Garadu

These days when I get calls from my friends.. narrating the accounts of their long drives which they ended by devouring garadu, bhutte ka kees and malpua near Sanjay Sethu.. I can’t help but envy them… All I can do is.. sit here, at the amphitheater wishing that the cool breeze messes up my hair.. hoping that the sun stops frying my brain… But its far from happening!! I love being here at GIM in Goa.. but I really miss my Indori winters!!

A day before exams @Celebrations, one of my favorite hangout places!

I usually started wearing my dusky fine woolens from mid-November. It used to get a little chilly in the wee hours while I would be fast asleep in the comfort of my frayed blue quilt. I simply loved the four months of winters.. when I would get goosebumps while riding my poor old Activa @ 75kmph at 9am on my way to college. The streets wouldn’t crowd up like the other seasons as most Indorians would be reluctant to come out of their cozy warm houses, so early on a typical winter morning. The aroma of garma-garam Poha-Jalebi from the small restaurants at Rajwada, 56 shops and JMB (a popular Indori sweet and namkeen shop) easily slowed us down, while the chuski of chai would give us the energy for sailing through the day.

Sirpur Lake

Oh how I miss my slow paced yet fulfilling Indori life! My winter hangout places included a small lake near NH3, MHOW camp area, Khajrana temple, MR10 bridge, pavements of the airport road, parking of my coaching class at MG road (just because most good looking guys would pass through as most gyms were located nearby). CCD, Barista Lavazza, Subway, Pizza Hut, McDonalds and Domino’s, the local bakeries and juice shops were appealing all year round. But these other places grow really beautiful to give a warm welcome to the shivery November with the Rose Ringed Parakeets on the Peepal trees. On one such days, oldies could be seen sitting in the colony parks while their grand children would be playing in the sun! You could find a bunch of school students fighting the cold by luxuriating in the sheesha lounges in Vijay Nagar, and spot couples relishing ice-cream candies under the Krishnapura chatriyaan, early in the evening. While the newly weds will be found in sarafa, where the jewelry showrooms would turn into chat shops during the dry windy nights.

NH3

Indore has a relatively more cosmopolitan culture compared to other cities in Madhya Pradesh. People here, are fond of everything.. arts, business, cricket, fashion, festivals, financial markets, food, gossip, malls, news, people, politics, technology, TV serials and most importantly, gossip over food!! Yeah, we are obsessed with our eating habits which includes talking necessarily while eating. Their food preferences are derived from the potpourri of Bengali, Marathi, Muslim, Mughlai, Gujarati, Rajasthani, Punjabi, South Indian, continental and Malwi cuisines. As all these people came down to Indore, so did their festivals.. Christmas, Lohri, Makar Sakranti (Pongal), Vasant Panchmi, Maha Shivratri which are celebrated with such zeal that it continues over weeks.

Poha

Jalebi

Soon I’ll be going back home.. just for 6 days, I will be able to put my woolens on, go on the long drives and freeze, and chomp on the crazy Indori food!! 😀